FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT MARKHAM - PAGE 5

A south suburban mayor is trying different tactics--from local ordinances to regional brainstorming--to curtail the flow of subsidized housing into his city. The amount of housing choice--or Section 8--voucher holders spreading through Markham has taken a toll on the town's stock of single-family homes, along with costing the city money in unpaid bills and lowering property values, Mayor David Webb said. The spread of subsidized housing is not unique to Markham. At least a dozen communities in southern Cook County complain of higher-than-average percentages of Section 8 voucher holders, said Ed Paesel, executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association.

Police were holding a 17-year-old Markham resident for questioning in the fatal shooting of another teenager early Thursday in Robbins, police said. Horatio Scott, 17, of the 12800 block of South Racine Avenue in Calumet Park was shot at 3510 W. 135th St., according to Robbins police. Officers, responding to a report of gunshots, said they arrived shortly after 2 a.m. Scott was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island, where he was pronounced dead an hour later.

An as-yet unreleased state audit is expected to chastise Markham for falling about $240,000 behind in payments to the village police pension fund, village officials conceded Tuesday. Village Treasurer Otto Bradford contended the south suburb wasn`t under "any pressure" from the state to put the money in the fund because the fund already is running a surplus, but a state official said Markham was legally obligated to make the payment. The cash-strapped village "eventually" plans to make good on its debt, "but it wouldn`t be wise to do so now," Bradford said, citing increased costs resulting from a new police contract reached Monday and overall cash flow problems.

The mother of an 11-year-old Harvey boy who was struck and killed by a car driven by a Markham police officer filed a $10 million civil suit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court. The four-count complaint charges that the accident was the result of negligence on the part of Markham officials and the officer, who was allowed to continue driving despite a history of traffic accidents. The suit, filed by Audrina Thomas, also seeks $5,000 for funeral expenses from the defendants, Officer Robert Grindell and the City of Markham.

Complaints about a mistreated horse led Markham police to two farms where they discovered about 250 roosters, hens and chicks they said had been trained for illegal cockfights. The fowl were impounded and were being cared for Tuesday by animal welfare workers while two men were charged with misdemeanors in connection with the fights, which allegedly drew hundreds of bettors, said Terry White, Markham deputy police chief. Ben Hill, 60, who owns the farms along Sacramento Avenue just west of Interstate Highway 294 in Markham, was charged with providing a location to raise animals for the use of prohibited entertainment.

William A. Sparger, 77, who as mayor of Markham wrestled with Police Department corruption, economic recession and a Village Council bribery scandal, died Saturday, March 30, of respiratory failure in South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, where he was being treated for the flu. By the time he lost his third re-election bid in 1985 to an opponent who became the community's first black mayor, Mr. Sparger, a lifelong resident of the south suburbs,...

A south suburban legislator who has been urging the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to grant temporary waivers to thousands of area car owners currently unable to get an auto emissions test at the Markham facility was told Friday that such waivers aren't necessary. In a letter sent Friday to state Rep. Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest), IEPA Director Thomas Skinner said the agency has taken steps to provide enough time for thousands of car owners to wait for the Markham facility to reopen without fear of being penalized.

A Country Club Hills man was killed Tuesday when the car he was riding in slammed into a tree on a residential street in Markham. Danzel Brandon, 21, of the 3800 block of 178th Place, was pronounced dead by the Cook County medical examiner's office about 5:35 a.m. Markham Deputy Police Chief Jim Knapp said Brandon was a front-seat passenger in a 1998 Ford Taurus when the driver lost control and hit a tree in the 16100 block of Sussex Avenue...

Joseph Cohen died in much the same circumstances he lived: alone. The 64-year-old former mental patient was beaten to death Tuesday in south suburban Markham, but police have no clear motive behind the killing. "He was pretty much a loner living on Social Security, and he didn`t have any known friends," said Markham police Lt. James Hunt. Cohen was found Tuesday night by his landlord, Ona Herbert, 54, Hunt said. He was taken to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, where he was pronounced dead early Wednesday, according to a hospital spokesman.